Tried and True: Mini Pizza

When I made these, I had no intention of posting them. They just seemed so, well, "duh!" But they looked really cute all piled up, and I figured my hopes of this being a gourmet blog probably went out the door when my second post was about cleaning my refrigerator. Then I remembered that LAST Tuesday, the title of my post started with "Tried and True." Hmm, I am seeing a weekly theme coming on, and a theme with alliteration at that.

Everyone could use an idea for a quick, tasty meal that requires about zero brain activity to put together, right? I mean Rachel Ray gets PAID for these kinds of ideas.

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These little guys are on English muffins, but when I want a thin crust pizza, I make them on pita bread (another regular meal in my kitchen that originated from my time in Egypt). When you make them on the English muffins, you have to use a good amount of sauce because it gets absorbed in all those nooks and crannies. But when you make them on pita, you have to use the sauce sparingly or you end up with a mushy mess.

Ingredients:
english muffins, pita bread, bagels or a baguette cut in half
shredded mozzarella cheese
appropriate toppings, my favorites:
diced onion
sliced mushrooms
diced bell peppers

For the sauce
olive oil
2 cloves minced garlic
6 oz. can tomato paste
28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 tsp. sugar
salt/pepper
2-3 pinches crushed red pepper (optional)
1 sprig of basil, torn up (optional)

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
-Heat up a few tablespoons of olive oil in a medium saucepan.
-Brown garlic. (Don't let it get dark!)
-Mix tomato paste into oil and garlic. Let that cook for a minute or two before adding the crushed tomatoes. Add sugar.
-Let the sauce cook uncovered for 5-10 minutes, until it is hot and thick--thicker than you would normally put on pasta, kind of the consistency of applesauce.
-Add salt, pepper, red pepper and basil.
-Split English muffins in half and top with sauce, toppings and cheese.
-Place on baking sheet and bake until the cheese melts and browns slightly on top.